Twitter Hackers Downloaded Personal Data Of Some Affected Users, Company Says

The hackers that attacked Twitter Inc. TWTR last week made away with private data of some of the affected users, including phone numbers, emails, and private messages, the social media company said in a statement Friday.

What Happened

Data was downloaded from up to eight accounts using the “Your Twitter Data” tool, meant for the platform's users to access and download information on their activities on the platform, including personal messages.

Accounts of high-profile individuals, such as Tesla Inc, TSLA CEO Elon Musk, Microsoft Corporation MSFT  Co-Founder Bill Gates, and former President of the United States Barack Obama, were affected in the widespread attack on the microblogging platform last Wednesday, where hackers solicited payments in cryptocurrency from unsuspecting followers.

Twitter said that none of the eight accounts, which saw their personal data downloaded, were verified.

Why It Matters

According to the company, 130 accounts were targetted in the attack. The hackers managed to reset the passwords of 45 of these users, and tweet after logging in to the accounts.

Twitter said it is conducting an investigation and cooperating with law enforcement. The social media firm is also restoring account access as a part of its remediation efforts. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and New York’s Department of Financial Services have announced they would investigate the hacking incident. 

Reports emerged previously that the attack on Twitter was the work of a company insider.

Price Action

Twitter shares closed 1.5% higher at $35.81 on Friday, and added another 0.4% in the after-hours session at $35.96.